


Give me a week and I'll show you my love

by loserswin2



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, my fic contributions to Jerza Week 2013
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-08-29
Packaged: 2018-02-15 08:15:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2221956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loserswin2/pseuds/loserswin2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I found love in the strangest place<br/>tied up and branded, locked in a cage<br/>I say, "I'm gonna stage a great escape."<br/>Let loose a love all pent up and painfully out of place<br/>- "Problems," Mother Mother</p>
<p>Chapter One: Hope //After seven years, he finally feels alive.<br/>Chapter Two: Atonement //In which Gray is a dick...but a great friend.<br/>Chapter Three: Stars //Never wish on a star. <br/>Chapter Four: Love //A stroll in Magnolia.<br/>Chapter Five: Stupid Things //The many stupid things that Jellal has done for his lady.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hope

**Author's Note:**

> So I posted these on Tumblr for Jerza Week 2013. I decided I should finally post them here.

> "If you love someone with your whole heart, even one person, then there’s salvation in life. Even if you can’t get together with that person." - Haruki Murakami,  _1Q84_

He sat at a table in the corner, cloaked in darkness, with Ultear and Meredy. They were in a tavern filled with the most unscrupulous sort of people, people they used to be. Their hoods were up, just in case the darkness wasn’t enough. They had become quite good at escaping from the Council…or the Council didn’t really care for them anymore. They had made it a habit to visit these taverns. It was the best way to gather intel on any dark guild activity. It had been six years since Ultear and Meredy had broken him out of prison. And seven years since…

_Don’t think about it._

He shook his head. Now was not the time to wallow in the past. He had to keep moving forward. For  _her_  sake. He went back to his task of listening in on the conversation at the next table, something about dangerous artifacts being smuggled in at Hargeon. 

“Hey! Did you hear!?” The man at the counter was seriously pissing Jellal off. The man apparently didn’t understand the concept of “please-be-quiet-so-I-can-bust-some-dark-guild-activity.” 

“Hmm?” The bartender heard a lot of things, considering the location. The bartender was wiping glasses with a filthy cloth that made Jellal think twice about drinking from his mug. “Ya have to be specific.”

“Remember that guild Fairy Tail?” Jellal froze, not noticing the glances from his guild mates. He hadn’t heard that name in a while. He always made sure that they never went near Magnolia. He couldn’t bear it. 

“Yeah. They always come last in the Grand Magical Games. They’re the laughing stock of Fiore now. It’s a shame, too. They used to be so strong. But I guess that’s what happens when your strongest disappear with some island.” Jellal was afraid of how this conversation might end up. He was debating whether he should bolt now and leave Ultear and Meredy to gather the intel or stay and let the pain stab at whatever was left of his heart. The man at the counter made the choice for him.

“They’re back.”

_What?_

“…How many have you had to drink?” The bartender looked at him wearily, obviously thinking like Jellal and not trusting whatever nonsense the man was spewing.

“They’re back.” The man repeated, insistent that he was right. “My buddy back in Magnolia said he saw them walking about as if they hadn’t left in the first place.”

That can’t be true. Ultear and Meredy said they saw the island disappear. That there was no way they could’ve survived the dragon’s attack. Even if they were Fairy Tail and seemed to perform miracles, it was just too much to hope that they survived. 

“Ya sure your buddy was yanking your chain?”

“He’s not!” The man was getting pretty animated with his storytelling. “I didn’t believe him until I went over and saw it myself.”

“What’d you see?” The rest of the tavern was now listening to the conversation, no doubt worried that the return of Fairy Tail meant they would have some tough opponents to face. 

“I saw their master —Makarov I think—, that demon Mirajane, and Titania—“ Jellal had bolted at that last name, ignoring his guild mates as they tried to wrestle him back into his seat. Once he was out of the tavern, he ran. He stopped once he realized that he was shaking all over. He leaned against a building and let out a shaky breath. 

_She was safe!_

“Erza…” He whispered. And with that name, he felt something within him burst. He realized that for the past seven years, he’d just been in limbo and not really feeling anything. He’d been numb to everything around him. But now, for the first time in seven years, he’d never felt so…

…  _alive._


	2. Atonement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Gray is a dick....but a great friend.

Jellal was sitting in the corner, away from the celebration in Crocus. They had managed to defeat the 10,000 dragons, though not everyone escaped unscathed. Almost everyone he knew was bandaged up. Though that didn’t stop Fairy Tail from celebrating. 

He could see Ultear and Meredy coming to where he was, with another figure that he couldn’t make out. He sighed. He hoped they weren’t trying to convince him to join the celebrations. He did his part in the fight. He didn’t have the right to—

“You bastard!” Jellal fell off his chair from the impact of the punch. 

“Gray!” Ultear went up to restrain Gray, which didn’t do much as Gray grabbed Jellal from his collar and hauled him up. Jellal didn’t say anything. He figured he deserved that, and much more. They eyed each other for a moment. Jellal’s were dull and Gray’s were filled with anger.

“You’re both injured. Fighting right now won’t solve anything.” Meredy spoke up this time, helping Ultear who was trying to pry Gray’s fingers off Jellal. Gray finally let go. He scoffed.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Ultear yelled at Gray. Gray and Ultear stared at each other, holding a silent conversation. After a while, Ultear gave a reluctant sigh and shot Gray a warning look before leaving with Meredy. She ignored Jellal’s pleading eyes. 

“I heard about your little stunt from Happy.” Jellal was confused at what Gray just told him. If he recalled, Happy was the little blue flying cat that always hung around Natsu. But he didn’t know what Happy ever witnessed him doing. Gray saw his confused look and rolled his eyes.

“Something about you having a fiancée. Does that ring a bell?” Oh, that. “I hope you know that even though I don’t know you as well as Erza does, I know a shitty lie when I hear one.” Jellal furrowed his eyebrows. He and Gray didn’t know each other very well so he didn’t know where the ice-mage was going with this. “So tell me, why aren’t you with Erza?”

_Well, one, I threatened the lives of our friends and forced her to leave the tower. Two, I killed one of her friends in front of her. Three, I forgot doing the first two things and that didn’t really help my situation. Four, she forgives me, even though she shouldn’t. And a whole bunch of other reasons I thought up when you guys were on Tenrou. So which of these reasons do you want to hear?_

“I need to atone for my sins.” That summed it up pretty nicely actually.

Gray ran his hand through his hair. “Jeez, you two are perfect for each other.” He muttered. 

“I know I’ve spent the past few years eliminating dark guilds. But it’s not enough.” It would never be enough, in Jellal’s opinion. 

“What a self-indulgent pile of horseshit! Of course it’s enough!” Gray yelled at him. 

“What?! No, it’s—“

“You spent seven years without her!”

Jellal looked at Gray in shock. 

“You spent seven years without her.” Gray repeated, in a much softer tone. “You didn’t even know if she was alive. Erza’s my friend and I  _know_  I would feel awful if I couldn’t see her for seven years. So I can’t  _possibly_ imagine what it was like for you.” 

Jellal slowly sat back down, letting Gray’s words sink in. Could he really stand spending more time away from her?

“Seven years.” Jellal murmured. 

Gray hummed in agreement. “I think that’s enough payment. Don’t you?” Gray began to walk away.

“Where is she?” Jellal softly called out. Gray stopped walking and looked back at Jellal, whose bangs were covering his eyes.

Gray gave a soft smile. “At the tavern with Lucy. It shouldn’t be too hard to pull her aside.”

Jellal looked up. “Thank you.”

Gray turned back around and continued on his way. Over his shoulder, he said, “Why are you thanking me? I didn’t do anything.” Jellal chuckled and looked up at the sky.  

Closing his eyes, he realized that maybe he would  _finally_  allow himself to run his hand through her scarlet hair. 


	3. Stars

> "When you wish upon a star
> 
> You’re a few million lightyears late
> 
> The star is dead
> 
> Just like your dreams”

When Jellal was a little boy, his mother would tell him to wish upon a star. Because only then would his dreams come true. So that’s what he did. Every night, he would wish upon whatever star he could see. He would wish for little things. Like “I wish I didn’t have to go to school tomorrow” or “I wish Mommy would make beef stew tomorrow.” He was a content little boy, so he didn’t feel the need to wish for anything more.

But then they came.

They destroyed the village he held dear. They killed his parents. And they took him far away to a place they called “Paradise.” 

There he was worked to death with other children. Many of the children were sad, broken, disillusioned. But not him. Every night, without fail, he would look for a star to wish upon. He wished for freedom from this wretched place.

Then he met her. 

Erza. 

He gave her the name Scarlet because her hair was so pretty. And so he would never forget it. He can’t imagine ever forgetting someone like her. She rarely smiled. But when she did, it was like his whole life was filled with light and nothing bad would happen as long as she kept smiling. 

That night, he found the brightest star and wished for him and Erza to be happy and free and safe.

When he’s brainwashed, he still found himself wishing for her safety. He forced Siegrain to keep a close eye on her, for his sanity. But mostly because he needed her alive to be his sacrifice. 

When he lost his memories and all he remembered was her, he lay in his cold cell and imagined a star. He wished for her to not give up. 

When he traveled all over the country with Ultear and Meredy, eliminating dark guilds, he wished to see her again. 

When he finally saw her, safe and sound, he goes back to wishing for her safety. If he won’t allow himself to get close to her, at least he can look at the stars and wish with all his might. 

But now, as he watched the blood pool around her lifeless body, the red mingling with her hair.

He knows.

He won’t be wishing for anything anymore.   


	4. Love

> "When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too." - Paulo Coelho,  _The Alchemist_

It was a nice sunny day in Magnolia. But if you were to ask Jellal how the day was, he would say, “It’s a most wonderful day today and I hope everyone can enjoy it as much as I am.” He’d been saying this for the past couple of days now. It was quite strange, to say the least, to see the former criminal look so blissfully happy. Didn’t he used to be filled with crushing guilt? What changed?

And you would find your answer by looking at the person by his side. 

He thought he knew what love was. He loved his parents, his childhood friends, and his guild mates. He thought loving her was enough, even if it was unrequited—though actually the feeling was mutual, but for the longest time he refused to see it that way. However that feeling of love—or what he thought was love—paled in comparison to the feeling of loving someone and having that person love you in return—the real thing. It was the most amazing feeling in the world that he sometimes wondered if he was still dreaming, if he was still in that cold cell dreaming of  _her_. The world could be ending tomorrow but the only thing that he could care about right now would be the sound of her laughter, the brilliance of her smile, and the feel of her hand in his.  

The world looked different now. He used to think it was a cruel world, where freedom was nothing but an illusion and didn’t exist. But now he could see how brightly the sun shined, how sweet the flowers smelled, and how _wonderful_  everything seemed to be. If he were to have just one regret, it would be denying himself this wonderful feeling for so long (really, what was he thinking?). 

He was just so happy that he had difficulty putting it to words. Because now he was free to hold her, to touch her, to taste her, and to  _love_  her.

“What are you smiling about?” He was pulled out of his thoughts and turned his head to look at her, the source of his happiness. She gave him a teasing grin, as if she knew exactly what his answer would be. 

His smile widened and he reached out to grab her hand and pull her closer to him. “You.”

Because Erza was the only person he would ever love and to be loved by her was reason enough for him to keep smiling every day. 


	5. Stupid Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A list of stupid things that Jellal has done for his lady.

> "I hope that one day you will have the experience of doing something you do not understand for someone you love." - Jonathan Safran Foer,  _Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close_

The first stupid thing Jellal did was when he met Erza and after finding out she didn’t have a surname, decided to give her one. He named it after her hair— _her beautiful scarlet hair, so he would never forget it._ He heard Wally behind him, saying what a stupid thing he had done and how he shouldn’t go around naming people. But he didn’t care. All he cared about was how she delicately tried out her new name— _“Erza…Scarlet”_ —and how she smiled afterward. Something inside him grew, he didn’t know what to call it yet. Afterward, he didn’t understand why Simon glared at him. 

The second stupid thing Jellal did was when he went to save Erza from the discipline room. He heard stories about what went on in that room and he couldn’t contain his anger. She shouldn’t have been taken in the first place— _he doesn’t realize that she was taken not for them to break her, but to break him_. It didn’t even cross his mind what he was doing when he killed the men who got in his way. All he thought about was he needed to get to her…quickly. But he was too late. They’ve already taken one of her eyes, those eyes that looked at him in such a way that he felt like he could accomplish anything. At least she’s now safe from harm. He can’t say the same for himself. 

The third stupid thing Jellal did was when he banished Erza from the tower. He didn’t understand why she didn’t want to help him. Didn’t they have the same dreams? Didn’t they both want paradise? It’s not until later when he realized when he banished her, she took his sanity with her. 

The fourth stupid thing Jellal did, it’s not as Jellal but as Siegrain, the newest council member. He was talking with the other council members, as they’re complaining about Fairy Tail, and he offhandedly called her Titania. The nickname began to spread throughout Fiore. He has once again named her, but has also marked her as the dark guilds began to keep a close eye on her. Now he has to work twice as hard to keep her safe— _for Zeref_.

The fifth stupid thing Jellal did was when he thought he could play with Erza’s feelings. He put a bind snake on her as they hugged— _he wished the hug would go on forever_. He didn’t realize how strong her friendships were. He realized it when Simon sacrificed himself and when he fought Natsu. Ultimately, he realized how her friends are extremely important to her when in the end, she offered herself to absorb the Etherion.

The sixth stupid thing Jellal did was when he absorbed the Etherion instead and redirected it toward the sky. He didn’t regret this. 

The seventh stupid thing Jellal did was when he lost his memories and after hearing from Erza— _the only person he knew_ —about all of the horrible things he had done, tried to kill himself along with Nirvana. He failed. But at least he found out that Erza still believed he was good, that had to count for something. 

The eighth stupid thing Jellal did was to not resist when the Council came to take him away. The others, however, are the ones who react violently to his arrest and run the risk of getting arrested too. He was at a loss about what to do. He was fortunate that Erza stepped in when she did and allowed the Council to take him away— _so he can atone for his sins_. They still understand each other best. 

The ninth stupid thing Jellal did was remember that it was the color of her hair. He told her so. He didn’t know how hard she cried on that hill. 

The tenth stupid thing Jellal did was to let his prison guards hear him tell Erza not to give up. Because now they know how much Erza means to him. And now they know how much it will hurt when they tell him that all the Fairies are gone. 

The eleventh stupid thing Jellal did was allowing Ultear and Meredy to break him out of prison. Because what was the point in living in a world where Erza wasn’t in it?

The twelfth stupid thing Jellal did was when they were infiltrating a dark guild and he blew their cover. One of the members of the dark guild was badmouthing Fairy Tail and Jellal was getting ready to punch him in the face when he called Erza weak. When the man made unsavory remarks about what he’d like to do to her, Jellal unleashed Meteor on him. He didn’t regret this either. 

The thirteenth stupid thing Jellal did was telling— _lying to_ — Erza that he had a fiancée.He’ll come to regret this later. He told himself, and his guild mates, it’s because he can’t allow himself to fall in love with someone who walks in the light— _but he already has_.  At least he got to kiss her— _the kiss will play in his dreams for a long time_. 

The fourteenth stupid thing Jellal did was agreeing to meet with Erza under the bridge. He still felt ashamed from his awful performance that day. No matter what Ultear said, he wasn’t really showing off for Erza— _really_. Even though it’s important that they discuss the lack of the evil magical presence, all he can think about is how hidden they were from prying eyes and how easy it would be to push her up against the wall and kiss her. 

The fifteenth stupid thing Jellal did was disguising as Mystogan. He really wanted to watch Erza take on the one hundred monsters. 

The sixteenth stupid thing Jellal did was getting caught by Doranbolt. He’s glad that Yajima helped him, but he can already imagine how disappointed Erza was going to be when she heard about this. 

The seventeenth stupid thing Jellal did was going to Ryuuzetsu Land. When he saw the strange man flying toward Erza, he immediately tried to push her out of the way. He grabbed onto something…interesting— _so soft_. They’re both red with embarrassment for the rest of the day. Eventually he ended up on his back with her sitting on his face. Actually… he won’t  _ever_  regret this. 

When he saw her on the floor being surrounded by the mini-dragon creatures, he rushed to her side and blasted them away from her. Before he can ask her if she needed a hand, he hopes for one thing.

He hopes this isn’t the last stupid thing he will do for her. 


End file.
